1955 Mercury Montclair Navigation
During most of its initial 15 years, Mercury was a Ford-based medium-priced car built on a slightly longer chassis with a more luxurious interior. In 1955, the Mercury finally gained its own personality, being lower and longer than its predecessor, and adorned with a bold grille-bumper assembly and vestigial rear fender contours with bright trim. Additional styling cues included hooded headlights and a wraparound windshield. Power was from a 'Y-block' overhead-valve V8 displacing 292 cubic inches and delivering nearly 200 horsepower at 4,400 RPM on the Montclair and Monterey and 188 hp on the Custom models. A three-speed manual transmission was standard, and overdrive and Merc-O-Matic automatic were optional. Power brakes, power steering, power windows, a four-way power seat, a radio, custom fender skirts, and custom two-tone paint were also optional.
Passenger cars rested on a 119-inch wheelbase and station wagons had a 118-inch wheelbase platform. The length of the sedans measured 206.3 inches and the station wagons at 201.7-inches. In the back was a live rear axle on leaf springs while the front used a ball-joint independent setup with coil springs. Four-wheel hydraulic drums provided the stopping power. An automatic chassis-lubrication system, marketed as Auto-Lube or Automatic Multi-Luber (a concept devised between Ford Motor Company and the Lincoln Industrial Corporation, the company that invented the lever-action grease gun), kept the chassis well-lubed. A button on the dashboard controlled a reservoir under the hood and sent a measured amount of grease through various hoses to multiple points on the chassis, providing the necessary lubrication.
The 1955 Mercury model lineup included the base-level Custom, intermediate Monterey, and top-of-the-line Montclair. The Montclair was comprised of a sedan, hardtop coupe, convertible, and Sun Valley hardtop. The sedan was priced at $2,685, the hardtop coupe at $2,630, and both the Sun Valley and Convertible at $2,710. The Sun Valley was the most exclusive, with 1,787 examples built in 1955. 71,588 were hardtop coupes, 20624 of the sedan, and 10,668 of the convertibles. The Sun Vally had a tinted plexiglass section over the front half of its roof.
The Mercury Montclair had a round medallion and the model name on the front fenders, two-tone paint, and a narrow band of chrome under the side windows.
Period advertising boasted, ''You don't have to look twice to tell it's a Mercury.'
by Daniel Vaughan | Nov 2020
Passenger cars rested on a 119-inch wheelbase and station wagons had a 118-inch wheelbase platform. The length of the sedans measured 206.3 inches and the station wagons at 201.7-inches. In the back was a live rear axle on leaf springs while the front used a ball-joint independent setup with coil springs. Four-wheel hydraulic drums provided the stopping power. An automatic chassis-lubrication system, marketed as Auto-Lube or Automatic Multi-Luber (a concept devised between Ford Motor Company and the Lincoln Industrial Corporation, the company that invented the lever-action grease gun), kept the chassis well-lubed. A button on the dashboard controlled a reservoir under the hood and sent a measured amount of grease through various hoses to multiple points on the chassis, providing the necessary lubrication.
The 1955 Mercury model lineup included the base-level Custom, intermediate Monterey, and top-of-the-line Montclair. The Montclair was comprised of a sedan, hardtop coupe, convertible, and Sun Valley hardtop. The sedan was priced at $2,685, the hardtop coupe at $2,630, and both the Sun Valley and Convertible at $2,710. The Sun Valley was the most exclusive, with 1,787 examples built in 1955. 71,588 were hardtop coupes, 20624 of the sedan, and 10,668 of the convertibles. The Sun Vally had a tinted plexiglass section over the front half of its roof.
The Mercury Montclair had a round medallion and the model name on the front fenders, two-tone paint, and a narrow band of chrome under the side windows.
Period advertising boasted, ''You don't have to look twice to tell it's a Mercury.'
by Daniel Vaughan | Nov 2020
Related Reading : Mercury Montclair History
The top of the Mercury line in 1956, the full-size Mercury Montclair was created under the Mercury Marque. The Montclair was introduced to be included in Mercurys premium automobile line. Though not much evidence exists to support this, the name is believed to have been derived from an upper-class community of Montclair located in New Jersey. With a distinct design feature that set it apart....
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Mercury
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Studebaker President
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Average Auction Sale: $43,530
1955 Mercury Montclair Vehicle Profiles
Recent Vehicle Additions
Performance and Specification Comparison
Price Comparison
$2,398 - $2,845
Montclair Specification Comparison by Year
Year
Production
Wheelbase
Engine
Prices
75,351
122.00 in.
8 cyl., 312.00 CID., 255.00hp
8 cyl., 368.00 CID., 290.00hp
8 cyl., 368.00 CID., 335.00hp
8 cyl., 368.00 CID., 290.00hp
8 cyl., 368.00 CID., 335.00hp
$3,190 - $3,430
20,673
122.00 in.
8 cyl., 383.00 CID., 330.00hp
8 cyl., 430.00 CID., 360.00hp
8 cyl., 430.00 CID.
8 cyl., 430.00 CID., 360.00hp
8 cyl., 430.00 CID.
$3,235 - $3,600
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